Traffic-signaling means for vehicles



F. W. HOTTENROTH.

TRAFFIC SAGNALING MEANS FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, 1921. 1 41493 ,082 I Patented Jan. 10, 1922.

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F. W: HOTTENROTH.

TRAFFIC SIGNAHNG MEANS FOR VEHICLES;

APPLICATION FILED AUG- 12. I921.

Patented Jan. '10, 1922.

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TRAFFIC SIGNALING MEANS FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. :2, 1921.

' Patented Jan. H), 1922.

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32 NM WW U tllTElD TlvAFFIC-SIGZMKLEFIG MEANS FOR VEHICLES.

Application filed August 12, 1921.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, Fnnnnnicn W. Hor- TENROTH, alcitizen of the United States, and a resident of Park Hill, county of lVestchester, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmpr vements in Trafiic-Signaling Means for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

\Vhile applicable to traction vehicles generally, my improved traffic signaling appliances are designed more particularly for use on automobiles and other motor driven vehicles, my object being to afford means, positioned in convenient proximity to the chauffeur, whereby the various exigencies of travel be quickly and conveniently indicated to those either in advance of or at the rear of the car, so as to obviate collisions and other dangers incidental to road traffic.

To this end the invention consists primarily and essentially in manipulatable means positioned upon or adjacent to the dash board whereby indicators may be ad vanced or retracted on either or both sides of a car substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, I show various mechanical devices and expedients whereby the desired results may be attained in a practical manner, although I do not wish to limit myself to minor details of construction since various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and intent of my invention in this respect, and with like effects.

Fig. 1, is a diagrammatic representation of a portion of an auto-car adjacent to the dash board thereof, showing a plurality of indicators positioned and protuberant on each side of the car,-the latter being viewed at the angle of inclination of the steering post, and the indicators being shown in side elevation in retracted vertically pendent po sition for convenience of illustration;

Fig. 2, is a sectional elevation, upon a larger scale, showing details of the indicating means shown in Fig. 1, broken away in part for convenience of illustration;

Fig. 3, is a transverse section on a still larger scale, taken upon plane of line 8-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4, is a sectional detail taken on general plane of line 4-4:, Fig. 2, showing the gears, etc, at the left end of the indicator- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16 1922.

Serial No. 491,688.

manipulative means represented in the preceding figures of the drawings;

Fig. 4c, is a similar view showing the gears, etc., at the right hand of the concentric manipulative shafts;

Fig. 5, is a detail view of the central portions of the concentric shafts shown in said preceding figures;

F ig. 6, is a sectional detail of said manipulative shafts showing a preferred form of detent for holding said shafts against unintentional rotation;

Fig. 7, is a sectional elevation showing a modification in which trip levers and connecting rods are substituted in lieu of the mitre gears shown in Figs. 1, 2 and a, of the drawings;

Fig. 8, is a sectional elevation taken upon plane of line 8-8, Fig. 7

Fig. 9, is a. detail of the extremities of one of the connection rods shown in Figs]? and 8, indicating the use of a form of ball and socket joint for the pivotal attachment of the rods to the trip levers;

Fig. 10, is a view similar to Fig. 8, illustrating a modification in which eccentrics are substituted in lieu of the lower trip levers;

Fig. 11, is an elevation illustrating the substitution of slotted bell crank levers in lieu of the mitre gears shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3;

Fig. 12, is a t-op view of the parts shown in Fig. 11;

Fi 1.3, is a perspective view of the parts shown in Figs. 11 and 12;

Fig. 1 1-, is a sewional detail illustrating the use of an indicator disc in lieu of the plurality of indicator arms shown in the preceding figures,-the section being taken upon plane of line lee-14E, Fig. 15;

Fig. 15, is a face view of the indicator box shown in Fig. 14c;

' 16 is a section of said indicator box taken upon plane of line 16-16, Fig. 14:, and showing the indicator disc in elevation.

As hereinbefore intimated various mechanical expedients may be resorted to in the practical application and adaptation of my invention to vehicles of different forms and types, the essential feature being one or more indicators a, pivotally supported, and means for advancing and retracting said indicator manually substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In the first six figures of the drawings, a plurality of indicator arms a, a, are shown as each rigidly attached to one of a plurality of pivotal journals j, j, mounted in bearings Z), 6, attached to a bracket support 72, b, on the side of the car, each of sald pivotal journals j, y, having also rigidly attached to it. a bevel gear 9, which meshes with a corresponding bevel gear 5, rigidly mounted on the extremity of one of a plurality of concentric shafts s, s, 8, each provided with a handle 8 or equivalent means by which the shaft may be turned on its longitudinal axis independent of the other shafts.

Each of these shafts s, is provided with a spring detent (Z, which prevents the unintentional rotationthereof, and counteracts any tendency of the shaft to follow the movement of any other shaft, while permitting its forcible rotation by hand through the medium of its individual handle it, or other turning means. lwo forms of such shaft detent (Z, are shown by way of eXemplification, in the drawings, although I do. not restrict myself to the use of either, or any particular form of detent. Thus, in Fig. 3, the detent cl, consists of a spring bolt the nose of which engages with a notch in the periphery of its own particular shaft 3, whereas in 6, a spring detent is used which is raised and lowered by a lever. cl, fulcrumed on'the handle 8 When in normal position the indicators a, are pendent, and may be concealed in such position. by a suitable shield. They are turned into visual operative position by a partial rotation of the shaft with which they are connected, so as to protrude outward'from the side of the car horizontally, as indicated for instance by the dotted lines a, Fig. 2. The indicator arms are of course differently marked to designate a turn to the right or left, stoppage, etc., as by means of arrows shown in the drawings, or by any other desired or appropriate characters or designs, or words that will answer the same purpose.

The indicators a, may be provided for one or both sides of the car. When arranged on 'both sides thereof the mechanisms described are duplicated as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4, the reversal of the gears as shown in Fig. 4-, insuring like results on both sides of the vehicle. When both sides of the car are thus equipped,.the outer concentric shafts s, s, are slotted medially to accommodate the handles s s and to admit of the requisite independence of movement of each shaft, as

indicated in Figs. 3, 5 and 6.

In Figs. 7 to 9, inclusive, trip levers a 8', are substituted in lieu of the fmitre gears g,

,8, said trip leversa sflbeing connected with t-he rods 0, 0, by means of ball and socket joints 01 0, which allow said connection rods 0, 0, to adapt themselves to variance in inclination incidental to the fact that the trip levers on the actuating shafts s, s, are positioned at right angles to those M, on the indicators a.

In the modification shown in Fig. 10, the shaft trip levers 8 are replaced by eccentrics 8*, with like result.

In Figs. 11 to 13 inclusive, slotted rocker arms a a, are substituted in lieu of the bevel gears g, and a slotted reciprocatory actuating rod 1, is used instead of a shaft, with like result in that the indicators a, a,- may be advanced and retracted as desired.

In the modification shown in'Figs. 14 to 16 inclusive, the indicator a, is in theform of a rotatable disc enclosed in a box or casing it, provided with a sight aperture in. In this arrangement all the pointers or indicator marks are placed on the face of a single disc, which may be rotated fully in either direction so as to bring the marks successively into coincidence with the sight aperture it.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In traffic signaling means of the character designated, the combination of an indi cator arm, rigidly attached to a pivotal journal, a mitre gear rigidly attached tosaid pivotal journal, a mitre gear meshing with said journal gear and mounted rigidly on a rotatable shaft, said rotatable shaft, and means for turning said shaft manually and means for holding said shaft against unintentional rotation substantially .as and for the purpose set forth.

. 2. In trafiic signaling means ofthe character designated, the combination of a plu-' rality of pivotal journals, a plurality of indicator arms each rigidly attached to said pivotal journals, mitre gears meshing'with said journal gears and mounted rigidly each on an independently rotatable shaft, said rotatable shafts concentrically arranged and means for turning each of said shafts manually and individually, substantially in the 1 manner and for the purpose described.

3. In traffic signaling means'of the character designated, the combination of a plurality of indicator arms each rigidly at tached to its own pivotal journal, mitre gears rigidly attached to said pivotal journals, mitre gears meshing with said journal gears and mounted rigidly each on an .independently rotatable shaft, said rotatable shafts concentrically arranged and means for turning each of said shafts manually and individually,- together with detent means for holding said concentric shafts acter designated, the combination. of a plurality of indicators pivotally mounted, manually operable concentric rotative shafts, and gearing intermediate between said shafts and said indicators whereby the latter may be separately and individually actuated in planes parallel to the common longitudinal axes of said shafts, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

5. In trafiie signaling means of the character designated, the combination of an indicator disc rigidly attached to a pivotal journal, a mitre gear rigidly attached to said pivotal journal, a mitre gear meshing with said journal gear and mounted rigidly on a rotatable shaft said rotatable shaft and means for turning said shaft manually, together With detent means for holding said concentric shafts against unintentional rotation, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

FREDERICK W. HOTTENROTH. Witnesses:

DOROTHY MIATT, GEO. WM. MIATT. 

